1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electrical connector, particularly to an electrical connector having positioning posts.
2. The Prior Art
A conventional electrical connector 10 having positioning posts 13 is shown in FIG. 1. The electrical connector 10 generally comprises an elongated insulating housing 11, two rows of passageways 12 for receiving conductive contacts, positioning means including two positioning posts 13 for positioning into a PCB (printed circuit board) 1 provided on both end portions of a surface of the housing 11, which surface is to be mounted to the PCB 1. Also referring now to FIG. 2, each of the positioning posts 13 is substantially circular and includes an open slot 15 extending through its center in the lengthwise direction of the housing 13 and a pair of positioning members 14 on both sides of the open slot 15. Each positioning member 14 is resilient and has an arcuate outer profile conforming to the side wall of a mating hole 2 of the PCB 1. When the connector 10 is mounted on the PCB 1 and the positioning posts 13 are inserted into the mating holes 2, the positioning members 14 will abut against the walls of the holes 2 for interferingly positioning the connector 10 relative to the PCB 1, and the opens 15 provide a space for elastic deformation of the positioning members 14.
Such positioning means, however, has the defect that the distance between the centers of the pair of positioning posts 13 (hereinafter referring to as "center distance of posts 13") should be precisely made to match the distance between the centers of a pair of mating holes 2 (hereinafter referring to as "center distance of holes 2") of the PCB 1, which increases the difficulty of manufacturing of the connector 10. In addition, this precisely matching requirement also makes it difficult to mount the connector 10 onto the PCB 1. Moreover, the positioning members 14 can be fractured due to over-deformation if an unmatch exists between the center distance of the posts 13 and the center distance of the holes 2. Furthermore, the open slots 15 are designed to be relatively wide to provide space enough for simultaneous inward elastic deformation of a pair of positioning members 14, while the positioning members 14 are designed to be relatively thin to provide resilient force enough to hold the connector 10 on the PCB 1 since the positioning posts 13 are fixed to the holes 2 by means of directly interfering fit therebetween, which seriously decreases the maximum deformation can be taken by the positioning members 14. As a result, a positioning member 14 is very likely fractured by over-deformation whenever only one said positioning member 14 is deformed due to an unmatch exists between the center distance of the posts 13 and the center distance of the holes 2.
Hence, there is a need for an electrical connector having positioning means that can overcome the above-mentioned defects.